I haven't raced either the minis or the mardaves but I have seen a few mardave races. The racing does always look good. And the cars themselves are also very simple which is good if you are just starting in rc car racing. So as a beginner/stock class I think they would be very good.
My only concern is are with the marshalling. I think we saw on friday that marshalling with a large number of cars in a heat can be a bit crazy. And this could be come an issue if both classes are popular, and from what you guys are saying theres every chance they could do!
One question, more regarding the 1/10th touring cars. A lot of clubs now seem to be dropping the 13.5 motor class and instead making it a 17.5 class. Mainly due to the fact that the 13.5 motors are a lot faster than the old brushed stock motors. What do you guys think to this? I know it would mean everyone changing motors which is a big negative but it might make the racing closer.